At the 3rd meeting of the IOC Group of Experts on Capacity Development (GE-CD), held 1–2 December 2021, Alan Evans, National Oceanography Centre’s (NOC) Head of Marine Policy was re-elected, along with IOC Chair Ariel Troisi (Argentina), as co-Chair of the GE-CD.
IOC-UNESCO is the UN body responsible for ocean science, which supports international collaboration and standards. The NOC provides the UK Delegation to the IOC, working with national stakeholders, the marine science community, policy makers and marine partners.
The GE-CD has been mandated by the IOC Assembly to undertake a revision of the IOC Strategy on Capacity Development (CD) at a time when CD is increasingly being recognised as a critical component in equipping and enabling a global community with the skills and technology required to manage marine estates whilst addressing the decline in ocean health.
A revised IOC Capacity Development Strategy should play a significant role in a global effort to deliver marine related CD. Guided by the outcomes of IOC CD Needs Assessments and taking into account and aligning its CD efforts with those undertaken by other UN agencies and initiatives, such as the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030), IOC CD will support the development of institutional capacity in all IOC functions that help tackle climate change, biodiversity and habitat loss and their impact on marine resources, services and observation systems.